Wind River Reservation · Fremont and Hot Springs Counties · Wyoming · (307) 333-7539
“The Mission of the Wind River Tribal Court is to provide a consistent forum for the legal resolution of all disputes within the Court’s jurisdiction, arising between members of the community, by implementing Tribal Law in an equitable and respectful way, while promoting the community values of respect and culture that allow for unity, fairness and due process for all members of the community.”
Wind River Tribal Court, mission statement
The Wind River Tribal Court is not a branch of the Wyoming courts. It is the court of two sovereign nations, the Eastern Shoshone Tribe and the Northern Arapaho Tribe. Their authority comes from their own inherent sovereignty, not from any state or federal constitution. A case there runs on tribal law, in a tribal forum. The rules parallel the state system in shape. They differ from it in ways that decide cases. Deep Waters Law represents tribal members and reservation residents in the Wind River Tribal Court, and in the state and federal cases that so often run alongside.
Francis H. McVay is a Wind River Tribal Court attorney, admitted to practice before the Court, and handles criminal defense, family, and appellate matters there, as well as the jurisdictional questions that arise whenever a reservation case touches the state or federal system.
Call (307) 333-7539. Consultations are free, and someone answers 24/7.
The Court
The Shoshone and Arapaho Tribal Court, known as the Wind River Tribal Court, is a court of general civil and criminal jurisdiction with both trial and appellate levels, plus a Wellness Court. It sits under one chief judge and three associate judges. It applies the Shoshone and Arapaho Law and Order Code, adopted by both tribes in 1987, restated in 2004, and amended since. The Code runs seventeen titles. They cover civil and criminal procedure, tribal offenses, a children’s code, a probate court, domestic relations, housing, employment rights, fish and game, natural resources, and a domestic and family violence code adopted in 2018.
That last title matters more than its place in the list suggests. It is where the tribes exercise the special domestic violence criminal jurisdiction that federal law now allows, and it is where protection orders issued on the reservation are made enforceable everywhere else.
Who the Court has jurisdiction over
The Code declares tribal policy plainly: the tribes intend to provide everyone living within the reservation an effective forum for civil and criminal disputes, and to apply the Code’s jurisdiction equally to all persons to the greatest extent the law permits. The reach, in practice:
- Territory. The Wind River Reservation and lands held in trust for the tribes.
- Civil matters. Anyone present on the reservation, doing business there, owning property there, or committing a tort there is subject to the Court’s civil jurisdiction. That includes non-Indians.
- Criminal matters. Members of the Eastern Shoshone or Northern Arapaho Tribes, and members of any other federally recognized tribe, for offenses under the Code committed within the reservation, or conduct outside the reservation in furtherance of an offense inside it.
- Non-Indian defendants. Ordinarily beyond tribal criminal jurisdiction. The exception is special domestic violence criminal jurisdiction under 25 U.S.C. § 1304, which the two tribes exercise jointly as one participating tribe: a non-Indian who lives or works on the reservation, or is the spouse, intimate partner, or dating partner of a member, can be prosecuted in the Tribal Court for domestic or dating violence and for violating a protection order.
Tribal jurisdiction is concurrent with federal jurisdiction. The Code says so, and it means the same conduct can be a tribal case, a federal case, or both.
When a reservation case becomes a federal case
Serious crimes by Indians in Indian Country are federal offenses under the Major Crimes Act. The United States Attorney prosecutes them in Cheyenne or Casper. Wyoming is not a Public Law 280 state. The State of Wyoming has no criminal jurisdiction over Indians on the reservation. A reservation assault, burglary, or drug distribution case therefore goes one of two ways: the Tribal Court, with a one-year sentencing cap, or federal court, with no cap at all. Which way it goes is often decided in the first days, and a lawyer who understands both systems can matter to that decision. Our federal crimes page covers the federal side in detail.
What is different about defending a case in the Tribal Court
The sentence ceiling. Under the Code, no term of confinement for a single offense may exceed one year, and no fine may exceed $5,000. Sentences run concurrently unless the Court orders otherwise. A third or subsequent protection-order violation may carry up to three years. These limits track the Indian Civil Rights Act, 25 U.S.C. § 1302, whose protections apply to every defendant.
Counsel. Every party may be represented by an advocate or an attorney admitted to the Court. The cost is theirs. The tribes have no obligation to provide counsel. Wyoming Legal Services is recognized by the Code as the provider for indigent defendants in traffic, civil, and misdemeanor matters. Attorneys admitted to any state bar may be admitted to the Court on application, oath, and fee.
Procedure. The Code has its own rules of criminal and civil procedure, its own children’s code, and its own domestic relations code. Deadlines, discovery, and the shape of a hearing differ from state practice. Pre-conviction probation, deferred proceedings, and suspended sentences are available and are often the realistic goal.
Habeas. A defendant detained by order of the tribes may test that detention by writ of habeas corpus under the Code, and in federal court under the Indian Civil Rights Act.
Appeals. The Wind River Tribal Court of Appeals reviews trial-level decisions under the Code’s appellate title. Appellate deadlines are short and the record is everything, in that court as in every other.
Protection orders across the boundary
A protection order entered by the Wind River Tribal Court is forwarded within 24 hours to the Wind River Police Department and to the Fremont and Hot Springs County courts for entry into the statewide system. Under 18 U.S.C. § 2265, it is entitled to full faith and credit off the reservation. A Wyoming order is likewise enforceable on the reservation. Violation is a crime in both systems. Our protection orders page explains the state side.
Civil matters
The Court’s civil docket includes divorce, custody, and support under the Domestic Relations Code; child welfare under the Children’s Code; probate of estates under the Probate title; housing and employment disputes under their own titles; and contract and tort claims arising on the reservation. State and federal courts recognize the Court’s judgments under principles of comity. Where statute provides, they receive full faith and credit. A judgment from the Tribal Court is not a lesser judgment. It is a judgment of a sovereign.
Why this firm
Reservation cases sit where three legal systems meet, and a Wind River Tribal Court attorney has to know all three. Francis H. McVay argued Walker v. State, 2022 WY 158, before the Wyoming Supreme Court and won the reversal of two felony convictions under the plain error standard, the hardest standard in appellate law. Before that he prosecuted felonies and misdemeanors as a Deputy County and Prosecuting Attorney in Park County. He has practiced in Wyoming state courts, in federal court, and before the Eastern Shoshone and Northern Arapaho tribal courts. The Court’s mission speaks of equity, respect, and due process for every member of the community. That is the standard we hold ourselves to when we appear there.
Mr. McVay briefed and argued Walker v. State as Senior Assistant Appellate Counsel for the Wyoming State Public Defender. The matter was not handled by Deep Waters Law, L.L.C. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome in any other matter.
Frequently asked questions
Can any Wyoming lawyer act as my Wind River Tribal Court attorney?
Yes, if the lawyer has been admitted to practice before the Court. Any attorney in good standing with a state bar may apply; admission requires an application, an oath to uphold the laws of the tribes, and an annual fee. Advocates who are not attorneys may also be admitted. Ask any lawyer you are considering whether they are currently admitted.
What is the maximum sentence in the Wind River Tribal Court?
One year of confinement and a $5,000 fine per offense under the Shoshone and Arapaho Law and Order Code, with sentences running concurrently unless the Court orders otherwise. A third or later protection-order violation may carry up to three years. The federal system, which handles the most serious reservation offenses, has no comparable ceiling.
Can the Tribal Court prosecute a non-Indian?
Generally no, with one exception. Under the special domestic violence criminal jurisdiction authorized by the Violence Against Women Act, the tribes may prosecute a non-Indian who lives or works on the reservation or is in a relationship with a member, for domestic or dating violence and for protection order violations.
Does the State of Wyoming have jurisdiction on the Wind River Reservation?
Not over crimes by Indians. Wyoming did not assume jurisdiction under Public Law 280. Those cases belong to the Tribal Court or, for serious offenses, to federal court under the Major Crimes Act. Crimes by non-Indians against non-Indians on the reservation are generally state matters.
Is a Wind River protection order valid off the reservation?
Yes. Orders are transmitted to the Fremont and Hot Springs County courts for entry into the statewide system and are entitled to full faith and credit under federal law. Wyoming orders are enforceable on the reservation the same way.
Do I have a right to a free lawyer in the Tribal Court?
No. The tribes are not obligated to provide counsel, and the Indian Civil Rights Act guarantees the right to counsel at the defendant’s own expense. Wyoming Legal Services represents indigent defendants in misdemeanor, traffic, and civil matters under a recognition in the Code.
If you have a matter in the Wind River Tribal Court, or a reservation case that may become a federal one, call early. Reachable 24/7, including weekends. Office hours Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., closed noon to 1:00.
Call (307) 333-7539 or request a free consultation.
This page describes tribal, state, and federal law in general terms as of September 2026 and is not legal advice. The Shoshone and Arapaho Law and Order Code is amended by the tribes; consult the Court’s published code for current text. Contacting Deep Waters Law does not create an attorney-client relationship.
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